440 slow to pick up oil pressure

[John Milner]

My 440 seems to be a little slow picking up oil pressure if the car has sit for several weeks. The engine is fresh with maybe 1,000 miles. It has a 402 pan/pickup and everything was normal there when I built the engine. I run 10w30 oil in in the engine and it currently has an STP oil filter. If the car sits for a few weeks and I go to start it up, the gauge will read 0 for about 10 seconds and I can hear the valvetrain clicking until it finally picks up oil. Once it picks up oil, it idles around 30 pounds of oil pressure hot and runs down the road around 60 pounds. If I start the car again the same day, it picks up oil instantly. I don't seem to have this issue on my other 440 I run in another car. I am tempted to swap the oil pump out for a different one. Does anyone have any recommendations or ideas on what might be the cause of this issue? Thanks

 

[Strato58]

No expert here but is STP a good filter? Could be be overly restrictive?

 

[Daves69]

I'd try a different, quality oil filter before going after the pump.

 

[RemCharger]

Did you use a sealant on the pickup threads

 

[John Milner]

Did you use a sealant on the pickup threads

I used a Loctite brand high temp thread sealant.

Thanks for the replies. Come to think of it, I believe I am running a Wix on my other 440. I will give a Wix filter a try before I start changing the oil pump.

 

[Dave6T4]

Use Wix. Never Fram! STP filter could be made by anyone, including Fram.
It sounds like the filter is draining back, making for a dry start.
Just for comparison, the V-6 Pentastar in my Grand Cherokee has a horizontal oil filter at the top of the engine, that drains back after engine shutdown. At startup, the engine sounds like a bag of metal balls being shaken. I ask the service guys at the dealership, and they say this is normal. If my 440's started up like this, I would be worried.

 

[jimbosride]

Had a similar issue on my 383

New Engine Build - Low Oil Pressure Problem

 

[Geoff 2]

Yes, sounds like the oil filter is allowing drain back, probably a leaking internal valve.